Leg 85 of 97 · Passage plan · RYA Yachtmaster standard
Durrës to Orikum
South past the low lagoons and river mouths of central Albania, between Sazan island and the mainland into the Bay of Vlorë, to the marina at Orikum under the Karaburun peninsula.
06:30 CEST from Durrës. 35 minutes after sunrise (05:57 CEST).
Arrive
About 17:39 CEST at Orikum. In the late afternoon, with about 1 hour 50 minutes of daylight in hand (sunset 19:31 CEST).
Tides
Range about 0.2 m: no practical effect
Wind
Sea breezes; the bay of Vlorë is sheltered from the west
Boat
35 to 38 ft sailing yacht, 1.9 m draught, 6 kn under sail, 5.5 kn under engine
Crew
Skipper and 3 crew, 2 watches of 2
Track and waypoints 1 to 6, with ports of refuge as squares.
Go or no-go
Decide at 06:00 CEST. Go only if all of these hold:
No wind above force 5.
Orikum berth and agent confirmed.
Visibility 3 nm or more.
If the weather is wrong, stay at Durrës.
Route and waypoints
Waypoints are planning positions in open water, checked against a 1:10m coastline to be at least 0.8 nm off land except at the harbour ends. Distances and courses are calculated from them. Plot every one on the current chart before use. Courses are true.
#
Waypoint
Latitude
Longitude
Course
Leg nm
Total nm
ETA
Notes
0
Durrës
41°18.4′N
019°27.2′E
06:30 CEST
Depart.
1
Durrës approach
41°18.0′N
019°26.0′E
243°T
1.0
1.0
06:45 CEST
Out of the bay.
2
Off Cape Lagjit
41°10.0′N
019°20.0′E
209°T
9.2
10.2
08:17 CEST
3 nm off.
3
Off the Seman and Vjosa
40°45.0′N
019°15.0′E
189°T
25.3
35.5
12:11 CEST
8 nm off the river mouths.
4
East of Sazan
40°31.2′N
019°19.8′E
165°T
14.3
49.8
14:33 CEST
Into the Bay of Vlorë between Sazan and the mainland.
5
Bay of Vlorë
40°27.0′N
019°24.0′E
143°T
5.3
55.1
15:26 CEST
Down the bay along the Karaburun side.
6
Orikum approach
40°23.4′N
019°26.4′E
153°T
4.0
59.1
16:27 CEST
Keep clear of the Pasha Liman naval base to the west. Check on the chart
7
Orikum Marina
40°20.1′N
019°28.3′E
156°T
3.6
62.7
17:39 CEST
Position approximate. Check on the chart
Tides and time
Durrës · Sat 21 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
HW
06:15
0.2 m
LW
12:07
0.1 m
HW
18:24
0.2 m
From the Otranto station.
Orikum · Sat 21 Aug · CEST (UTC+2)
LW
06:02
0.1 m
HW
11:55
0.3 m
LW
18:10
0.1 m
From the Kerkyra station.
Saturday 21 August 2027. Tides. The range here is 0.1 to 0.3 m: tides make no practical difference. Wind and air pressure move the sea level more than the tide does.
Durrës uses the Otranto station and Orikum the Kerkyra station.
Tide times are predictions made for this plan from the TICON-4 harmonic constants (DGFI-TUM) with the Neaps tide predictor, because the official 2027 tables were not yet published when it was written. Tested against the official APDL table for Leixões on 23 July 2026, the predicted times were within 8 minutes and the heights 0.1 to 0.2 m lower. Heights are above lowest astronomical tide. Check every time against the official 2027 table before sailing.
Daylight. Sunrise at Durrës 05:57 CEST. Sunset at Orikum 19:31 CEST.
Weather
A low coast of lagoons and river mouths, hard to see from offshore.
The Bay of Vlorë is sheltered from the west by Karaburun and Sazan.
Forecasts to check
Croatian DHMZ forecast for the South Adriatic (meteo.hr); Greek forecasts for the North Ionian (Hellenic National Meteorological Service, emy.gr).
NAVTEX Kerkyra: station K on 518 kHz in English, at 01:40, 05:40, 09:40, 13:40, 17:40 and 21:40 UTC, with weather at 05:40, 09:40, 17:40 and 21:40.
Albanian weather broadcasts on VHF: Check the pilot book
Hazards
Sazan and Karaburun. The Karaburun-Sazan National Marine Park (2010) covers about 125 km²; its zoning and anchoring rules could not be found, and local permission may be needed. Sazan has been a military exclusion zone and has a naval post. Keep 1 nm off.
Pasha Liman is an active naval base on the Bay of Vlorë beside Orikum, at 40°19.4'N 19°25.2'E. Keep well clear; any exclusion zone could not be checked.
Orikum Marina says it is an official port of entry with customs and immigration help and over 600 berths. Older cruising reports say an agent comes from Vlorë.
River mouths. The Shkumbin, Seman and Vjosa build shoals offshore. Keep 8 nm off.
Ports of refuge
Port
From the route
Use it when
Notes
Durrës
Start
Within the first hour
Port.
Vlorë
4 nm north of Orikum
Alternative
Port of entry. Check the pilot book
Orikum
Destination
First choice
+355 68 603 9888.
Pilotage
Leaving Durrës
Leave the port and the bay, then head south, 3 nm off and then 8 nm off the river mouths.
Into Orikum
Enter the Bay of Vlorë east of Sazan and follow its west side south.
Keep clear of Pasha Liman and call Orikum Marina (+355 68 603 9888) for a berth. VHF: Check the pilot book
Wind rising from the south. Shelter in the Bay of Vlorë.
Person overboard. Shout, point, throw the danger buoy, press MOB, DSC distress alert, Mayday on 16.
Before leaving
Forecasts read and logged before the go or no-go time
Albanian notices to mariners checked for the route
Waypoints entered and checked against the chart
Ship's log started in UTC
Crew briefing: route, watches, safety gear, MOB, fog
Orikum berth booked
Agent arranged for the next stops
Fuel for 11 hours under engine, plus a reserve
Water, food and hot drinks for 12 hours
Lifejackets with crotch straps, jackstays rigged, harnesses
Liferaft, grab bag, flares in date, handheld VHF
Radar, AIS and navigation lights tested
Passports, boat papers and insurance aboard
Sources
Karaburun-Sazan, Sazan and Pasha Liman: English Wikipedia.
Orikum Marina: marinaorikum.com.
Montenegro and Albania formalities: noonsite.com (cruising reports, dated); Portonovi: portonovi.com; Orikum Marina: marinaorikum.com.
Albanian and Montenegrin lights: Lighthouse Directory (ibiblio.org/lighthouse), characteristics and heights only.
Tides: predictions from TICON-4 harmonic constants (Hart-Davis, Dettmering and Seitz, DGFI-TUM, 2025, doi 10.17882/109129) with Neaps (openwaters.io). Check against the Instituto Hidrográfico 2027 tables.
Sunrise and sunset: calculated (NOAA method).
Lights: The Lighthouse Directory (Rowlett), ibiblio.org/lighthouse, Portugal pages revised August 2024. Cross-check with the IH List of Lights, volume I.